On the basilisk infested map, you don't need to protect the whole party. Basilisks are one-trick ponies. I don't think they have any attacks that cause hp damage. Your best fighter can slaughter them solo if protected from petrification. Just keep the rest of your party a safe distance away.
You will still need more than one potion/spell/scroll to clear the map, because the duration will run out before you are done, but still there's no need to waste your resources protecting the entire party.
And there are still a few non-basilisk dangers that might kill your lone fighter, so a little scouting is in order with stealth or invisibility. And you can keep your the rest of your party close behind- they can follow just a few steps behind your protected fighter or scout, as long as they stop immediately when a basilisk is spotted (auto-pause on sighting enemy does the trick here).
As you noted, if you want to add some levels to your party quickly, the basilisk area gives you a lot of easy kills for really high experience, as long as you go prepared.
Post edited October 31, 2011 by bjbrown